According to a recent press release, a local contractor faces fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) arising from OSHA’s discovery of electrocution hazards that pose serious safety risks to workers at the company’s Cambridge worksite. Employees had been working in close proximity to energized power lines, using a trench rod and a fiberglass pole with a metal end to lift overhead power lines in order to move excavating equipment under the lines and onto their worksites – an activity that poses a serious risk of electrocution to the workers, and that violates OSHA worker safety standards.

OSHA proposed over $70,000 in fines for the contractor’s violations. In 2011, the contractor had been cited for similar violations at a Framingham worksite. Accordingly, the contractor had already been made aware of the safety hazards associated with working near and around energized power lines, justifying OSHA’s categorization of the Cambridge site violation as a willful violation. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing, or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

An abrasive blasting contractor renovating a mill in Easthampton, MA faces over $45,000 in proposed fines after receiving citations for seventeen serious workplace health violations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). According to an OSHA press release, workers on the mill site were overexposed to lead and silica and faced other health hazards due to the failure of their employer, Maher Industries (doing business as A Fast Blast), to supply basic, legally required safeguards.

The citations were levied against Maher Industries following an April 2014 inspection by OSHA’s Springfield Area Office, which was conducted in response to a complaint by a worker. The investigation led to the discovery that workers were being exposed to airborne concentrations of lead and silica in excess of permissible exposure levels. Compounding this exposure hazard was the lack of a shower facility or protective clothing and eye protection for workers. OSHA investigators also noted that the company failed to monitor lead exposure levels and allowed workers to consume beverages adjacent to abrasive blasting sites.

Lead exposure can cause damage to the central nervous system, urinary, blood and reproductive systems. Crystalline silica can cause lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. Overexposure can result in these and other serious long-term health issues for workers. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 10% of all fatal occupational injuries in 2012 were due to exposure to harmful substances or environments.

OSHA found that workers were exposed to other health risks at the work site as well. The respirators used on-site were deficient. Employees were not medically evaluated to determine their fitness to wear a respirator. Respirators were not fit-tested to ensure a tight-fitting seal and were not cleaned or disinfected between uses. Additionally, the air compressor used to supply air to the respirators lacked a carbon monoxide alarm, in violation of OSHA safety standards.

Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed fines of $177,800 for a Massachusetts Dollar Tree Stores location after identifying several safety violations, according to an OSHA press release. On a national level, the company has received over 450 OSHA violation citations in the past 19 years.

The Dollar Tree Stores located in Roslindale received citations for three “willful violations” after an initial inspection in December 2013, when OSHA found a variety of safety hazards in the store’s stockrooms. These hazards exposed workers to grave possibilities of being crushed by merchandise that had been inappropriately stocked on shelves and could collapse. Additionally, the store was cited for permitting emergency exits to be blocked by store inventory, shopping carriages, and garbage, risking workers’ safety if an emergency exit was required. OSHA also cited the store for not having proper means to access the store’s electrical control panels, which house the store’s power in the event of an emergency.

These same violations have been identified and cited in Dollar Tree Stores over 51 times within the past 5 years.

The company was also cited for a “serious violation” for permitting garbage to accumulate within the stockroom, creating the likelihood for tripping accidents. “Serious violations” carry a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could occur from a known hazard.

As a result of these willful and serious OSHA violations, Dollar Tree Stores has been fined and must take corrective action to eliminate the identified hazards, for the safety and health of its employees.

Last December, a 46-year-old employee of Boston Bridge & Steel, Inc. was killed on the job when the 12,000-pound bridge arch beam that he was spray painting fell on him, crushing him to death. Last month, according to a news release, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) discovered thirteen serious OSHA violations at the steel fabrication company during its investigation into the incident.

The worker’s death occurred after the employer had failed to ensure that the steel beam on which he was working was adequately braced or supported to prevent the beam from falling. In addition, during its investigation, OSHA found that the workers:

Had not been evaluated to determine whether they were medically fit to use the half-face respirators they wore;

Were not provided respirators that included the correct respirator filters;

Had not received training or information about the hazards they faced from chemicals during the spray painting process;

Faced hazards from flying debris from a grinder that lacked a guard;

Were permitted to use a cleaning hose with excess air pressure;

Risked flash burns from missing screens where welding was performed;

Were exposed to electric shock and fire hazards from misused electrical cords and missing electrical knockouts;

Risked falling from a damaged access ladder; and

Faced slipping and tripping hazards where snow and ice had accumulated at an emergency exit route.

The fall hazards and electrical hazards were repeat violations, first cited by OSHA during inspections in 2010 and 2011 when the company was operating under a different name.

OSHA proposed fines of $72,450 for Boston Bridge & Steel, Inc.’s violations. Additionally, an OSHA representative emphasized that the worker’s December death, like the deaths of countless other workers, was preventable, “if only employers provide and maintain effective safeguards for their workers.”

Ordinarily, an employer cannot be sued by an employee injured or killed on the job, as an employee’s sole remedy is limited to workers’ compensation. However, when the employer’s conduct is deemed “willful and wanton,” Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits can be doubled. In circumstances in which an employer disregards well-established safety standards, consideration of a double compensation claim must be undertaken.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited Powderpart Inc., a Woburn-based 3-D printing company, for one willful and nine serious violations of workplace safety standards resulting from an explosion and fire on November 5, 2013, that left one employee with third-degree burns.

Powderpart Inc. uses combustible metal powders such as titanium and aluminum alloys in its 3-D printing process, and an inspection of its facilities revealed Powderpart Inc. willfully violated the requirement that it have Class D fire extinguishers. OSHA found that Powderpart Inc. knew aluminum and titanium fires cannot be extinguished by water or a common fire extinguisher, that the company’s manufacturing process creates a heightened risk of explosion and fire, and that Powderpart Inc. did not have the required Class D extinguisher at the time of the explosion and fire. OSHA penalized Powderpart Inc. $14,000 for this willful violation.

OSHA penalized Powderpart Inc. a total of $50,400 for the remaining nine serious violations. Those violations include failing to provide proper training and protection for employees; failing to post danger tags in explosive areas; failing to notify the Woburn fire department of the presence of hazardous workplace materials; failing to isolate flammable powders and employee workstations from areas with explosive potential; and using equipment and wiring that were unsuitable for use with the hazardous materials.

According to OSHA’s press release, Robert Hooper, OSHA’s acting regional administrator for New England, expressed his concern that companies involved in the new technology of 3-D printing need to carefully monitor their manufacturing processes, and take the steps necessary to provide employees with a safe and secure work environment. “The market for 3-D printed parts made from titanium and aluminum alloys includes the automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, dental and jewelry industries. Basic safety measures must be incorporated into this 21st century technology, so that it can grow without harming the employees who are building this new industry,” said Hooper.

On November 14, 2013, a roofer working with Fairview Contractors Inc. fell to his death while performing roofing work at a condominium in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. According to a recent news release from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), OSHA’s investigation into the incident resulted in citations to the employer for two willful violations for the lack of fall protection, and for five serious violations for additional hazards. Those violations were as follows

Willful Violation – Employer failed to ensure that employees working from scaffolds approximately 17 feet high had adequate protection from falls by the use of personal fall arrest systems or appropriate guardrail systems.

Serious Violation – For employees who performed work on a scaffold, or who were involved in erecting, disassembling, moving, operating, repairing, maintaining, or inspecting a scaffold, the employer failed to train those employees to recognize the hazards associated with such work and to understand how to control and minimize those hazards.

Serious Violation – Employer did not train employees who were exposed to fall hazards to recognize those hazards and how to minimize the fall risk.

Serious Violation – Employer failed to ensure that employees used extension ladders with appropriate side rails, particularly while employees used the ladders to carry roofing materials up the ladder, which could cause the employee to lose balance and fall.

Serious Violation – Employer did not train employees using extension ladders to recognize the hazards relating to that work and how to minimize those hazards.

OSHA proposed penalties for these violations totaling $119,350. In addition, OSHA has placed Fairview Contractors in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, designed to target employers who have committed willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations for frequent follow-up inspections.

The news release emphasized the “needless and avoidable” nature of the roofer’s fall to his death, noting that falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, despite how simple it is to identify and eliminate the risk of fatal falls. The citations were issued just weeks before the kick-off of OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down, an event designed to encourage employers to speak directly with their employees about fall hazards and reinforce the importance of fall prevention.

On April 28, 2014, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) released a report entitled “Dying for Work in Massachusetts: Loss of Life and Limb in Massachusetts Workplaces.” The report compiled data regarding work-related deaths in Massachusetts in 2013, and revealed a number of concerning statistics. The following excerpts are direct quotes from the report’s executive summary:

Forty-eight workers in Massachusetts lost their lives on the job in 2013.

For every worker killed on the job, ten more die from occupational disease. An estimated 480 workers died in 2013 in Massachusetts from occupational disease. A conservative estimate of 1,800 workers in Massachusetts were newly diagnosed with cancers caused by workplace exposures, and 50,000 more were seriously injured.

The average age at death was 49 years old, with a range of 19 to 81 years. 56% of those who were fatally injured on the job were 50 years old or older.

The construction industry remains one of the most dangerous for workers with eleven on-the-job fatalities occurring in 2013 (23% of total).

Falls of all types caused almost one-fifth (9 out of 48) of all occupational fatalities in Massachusetts in 2013. Six of the nine falls occurred in the construction industry.

Commercial fishing claimed the lives of two Massachusetts fishermen and lobstermen in 2013.

Workplace violence was responsible for the death of five workers, including a teacher, a police officer, a livery driver and two store workers.

As the report emphasizes, this data suggests that federal and Massachusetts regulatory bodies are still not doing enough to enforce workplace safety. According to the report, at the federal level, OSHA is understaffed and underfunded, and issues penalties that are “too little, too late” – a scenario that allows employers to elect to violate OSHA standards rather than spend the money to comply and protect employees, because paying a penalty would be cheaper.

At the state level, the report makes several suggestions. First, it recommends legislation extending workplace protections to all public employees. It also expresses the need for improvements to Massachusetts workers’ compensation, “to make it just, fair and accessible to all injured workers.” Next, the report emphasizes the need to pass the “Families of Fallen Workers Burial Bill,” which would increase the workers’ compensation burial allowance amount from $4,000 to eight times the weekly salary of an average Massachusetts employee. Finally, the report recommends swift enforcement of the new “Temporary Worker Right to Know Law,” which would provide temporary employees with important information about the work they are to perform, including their right to workers’ compensation.

The release of the report coincided with the 26th annual observation of Workers’ Memorial Day, on April 28, during which we remember workers who have suffered illnesses, injuries, or death from on-the-job accidents or conditions. As the data indicates, workplace safety in Massachusetts can be greatly improved, minimizing the risk of work-related injuries and fatalities.

A recent OSHA News Release reports that Joseph P. Cardillo & Son Inc., an excavation and utilities contractor out of Wakefield, Massachusetts, has been cited for willful and serious violations of OSHA’s excavation safety standards. The company faces $144,000 in fines for its failure to ensure that its workers, who were installing water mains in a trench six feet, 8 inches deep in Milton, were provided cave-in protection and a ladder to exit the trench, which exposed the workers to falling debris.

As OSHA’s local area director observed, “The proposed fines reflect both the gravity of the hazards and that the employer knowingly refused to comply with using required safeguards… These workers could have been crushed and buried in seconds beneath tons of soil and debris, without any escape options. This risk is unacceptable, and this employer has been cited previously for the same hazards.”

OSHA requires that all trenches and excavations with a depth of five or more feet be protected against the collapse of sidewalls. According to a publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), one of the following protective systems may be used to comply with the OSHA standards: sloping the ground; benching the ground; shoring the trench with supports (such as planking or hydraulic jacks); or shielding the trench (with the use of a trench box).

The same publication recounts statistics that illustrate the severity of the risks associated with trench work that does not observe OSHA standards. For example, NIOSH explains that, between 2000 and 2009, 350 workers were killed in trenching or excavation cave-ins, with most incidents involving excavation work or “water, sewer, pipeline, and communications and power-line construction.” The most frequent cause of these fatalities was lack of a protective system.

The OSHA News Release states that Joseph P. Cardillo & Son Inc. was cited for the same violations in 2010, and has been in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program since 2011 – a program that focuses on employers that have a history of endangering workers through safety violations that demonstrate an indifference to the employer’s legal responsibilities. The hefty fine evidences OSHA’s commitment to uncompromising enforcement of safety standards to minimize the significant risks of injury or death at the workplace.

According to a recent OSHA press release, four deaths have occurred in the first five weeks of 2014 as a result of workers’ falls from cell towers. The disturbing statistic follows a final tally of thirteen similar fatalities in 2013, and has OSHA increasingly concerned for cell tower employees’ safety.

As the OSHA article explains:

“Of the 13 communication tower-related fatalities that occurred in 2013, the majority were a result of falls. OSHA requires employers to provide adequate fall protection equipment, train employees how to use the safety equipment and ensure that they use it properly and consistently. In the past few months, tower workers have also been injured or killed by falling objects, the structural collapse of towers and equipment failures.”

Additionally, a 2012 article from ProPublica reported that between 2003 and 2011, 50 cell tower climbers were killed while working on a cell tower site. According to ProPublica’s investigation, many of these deadly accidents were the result of poor equipment, inadequate training, or poor climbing conditions. ProPublica also found that as cell phone service providers saw an increase in demand for cell towers, there was also an increase in cell tower worker injuries and deaths.

In November 2013, OSHA mandated that its compliance officers and regional administrators focus on increased attention, education, and data collection in the industry. OSHA has now reiterated its commitment to prevent these injuries and deaths through collaboration with the National Association of Tower Erectors and others in the industry, as well as through steadfast enforcement efforts. It has also created a new web page dedicated to the safety issues surrounding communication tower work.

As long as the demand for cell tower workers remains high, so will the potential risks associated with such work. If you are involved in such work, ensure that you and your co-workers have received proper training and safety equipment before ascending dozens of feet up a communication tower.

According to a recent OSHA news release, OSHA has cited Packaging Corporation of America, a box manufacturer, for two repeat violations of workplace safety standards at the company’s manufacturing plant in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, following inspection in December 2013. Specifically, OSHA found that workers at the facility faced crushing, struck-by, and caught-in machinery hazards related to setting up a press. Under OSHA regulations, before performing any machine maintenance, machines must be powered off and their power sources locked out to avoid worker injuries and fatalities should the machine become energized unexpectedly. Additionally, OSHA found that workers were exposed to becoming caught in operating conveyor belts on the same machine, which lacked protective guarding. Although no injuries resulted from these violations, the company had been cited for similar violations at its location in Opelika, Alabama, resulting in a citation for repeat violations.

Alarmingly, these are just two of several serious citations for Packaging Corporation of America locations throughout the country. OSHA reports that in September 2013, it fined the company $185,560 for 30 safety violations at its Tomahawk, Wisconsin facility, after a worker suffered severe burn injuries when attempting to relight a steam boiler in the plant. Seven of those violations were repeat violations, including lack of machine guarding; failure to provide a suitable eyewash station for workers exposed to corrosive substances; electrical safety hazards; using compressed air at greater than 30 PSI for cleaning purposes; and improperly labeling containers of hazardous materials. In 2012, two contractors were killed at the same facility by a steam and ash release triggered by fly ash. In 2008, an explosion in the storage area killed three workers and injured another worker. Additionally, OSHA reports that as a result of a 2009 inspection, the company’s facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin received one willful violation citation and six serious violation citations for failures to provide proper employee training, provide personal protection equipment, and implement proper procedures related to caustic solution spills.

Regarding the Chelmsford facility violations, Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Essex and Middlesex counties, stated, “While no injuries occurred, the potential for serious injury was evident. For the safety and well-being of its workers, an employer must take effective steps to ensure that required safeguards are in place and constantly utilized at all facilities.”